Cole Palmer 's reaction to Roy Keane 's recent praise suggests Harry Kane was right about England 's stars being aware of their Euro 2024 critiques.
The Three Lions were held to a draw once more on Tuesday as they saw out a 0-0 stalemate against Slovenia to secure first place in Group C. But despite the general sense of malaise around yet another England performance, Palmer's 20-minute cameo off the bench was picked out by Keane as cause for optimism.
The Manchester United icon hailed Palmer's "X-factor" and dubbed the Chelsea talisman "an amazing player" whom he loves to watch. He went on to say Gareth Southgate will now be "under huge pressure" to start the Premier League's Young Player of the Season in their next game, and Palmer was quick to show appreciation for the words of encouragement.
"It’s always nice to hear, especially from someone like Roy Keane who played internationally and at Manchester United," said Palmer "It’s up to the manager now what he wants to do. I’m full of belief. After the season I’ve had, I don’t see why I should be down. I’ll just try and take every chance and make an impact."
Keane's comments came amid tangible tensions between the England squad and some of England's most prominent pundits, who have been largely gloomy in their analysis. Captain Kane came out to defend his team following their 1-1 draw with Denmark, calling on pundits to help find positives and "build the team up" after Gary Lineker called that display "s***."
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That response was proof enough England's players are listening to what's being said of their efforts by journalists and ex-internationals. Arsenal 's Declan Rice backed up his skipper's comments by calling for more positivity in the media, suggesting the negative outlook has been overblown considering they've advanced at the top of their group.
"I don't know why we feel like it [England's Euro 2024 performance] is such a negative thing. We're talking like we're going out of the tournament here," he told ITV. "We are top of the group. We need to stay positive, stay upbeat. Let's have some positivity going into games. Let's give players the best confidence in the world."
Keane was impressed by Palmer's contributions after he came on in Cologne (Robin Jones/Getty Images)Jarrod Bowen also expressed his surprise at Lineker's comments but said there's "only so much you want to read before you either end up replying or saying something you don’t want to say." The West Ham forward conceded it "can affect your mood," and those less experienced members of the squad are sure to feel the pressure even more.
Not many might have thought that it would be ex-Republic of Ireland international Keane of all people to give England a shot in the arm. However, his reaction to Palmer's powerful introduction against Slovenia could mark the beginning of a more upbeat cycle in England's Euro 2024 campaign.
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